A Yerevan business has refused to pay a woman who dressed up in an orange elephant costume and had to walk outside the store to drum-up business, arguing that her first day’s work was a trial run and that she failed to attract customers the second day.

The business, Orange Elephant, also known as Maria Design, and the woman, who will remain anonymous, have been at loggerheads since.

The Nor Nork Office of the State Employment Agency, who got the woman the job, has refused to intervene.

The 38-year-old woman worked as an “Orange Elephant” only for two days. Every day, from 1 to 7 PM, she had to attract passing children to the Orange Elephant children's studio located on the ground floor of the Maria Design wedding hall at 31 Mashtots Avenue.

The woman chose the job herself, as she enjoyed the thought of communicating with children, although the working conditions were difficult and the salary was low. 

"Wearing elephant clothes was not easy, I was sweating even in this weather. My headdress was heavy, my shoes were coming off. I was wearing gloves and had to offer candy to passersby, get the money and give the change. But it was nice to communicate with children. When they reacted to my games, I enjoyed it. I dreamt of becoming an actress since childhood, and acting in a mask helped me to be at ease." 

When she tried to rest by walking back and forth with her hands on her back, her employer warned her not to do so, because she looked “sad”. She was told to constantly "jump and act," even when there were no children around. 

"There is a sewing workshop next to my house, but it’s not every day that I manage to earn money there (1500 drams). I thought I'd be sure to make a living if I did this instead. They promised to pay more in the summer,” the woman says. She kept the job a secret from her husband and children. 

Maria Design Director Hasmik Isoyan warned the woman to avoid tax inspectors while selling candy to passersby. 

"I don’t know why she said that. Probably they do not pay taxes on the candy, because they said that the chocolate price was 250 drams in the shop, while they were selling it for 200. I refused to sell the candies, saying that I wasn’t comfortable taking the money and giving change in those clothes," the orange elephant woman says. 

She resigned from the job at the end of the second day. 

Although she enjoyed communicating with children, she couldn’t stand the rude behavior and immoral remarks of men on the street. 

"Two drunk men approached me on the second day, asking if I were a girl or a boy, remarking that orange elephants do not exist, only pink ones do. Taxi drivers parked nearby proposed that we go somewhere together. Other men were coming, touching my clothes, tickling me. It was more than I could bear when one of them stretched out his hand and pulled my hair." 

Insulted and holding back her tears, she went to the business and refused to work. "It was past six o'clock, but they refused to pay me, claiming that I was not able to attract any client that day", she says. 

The State Employment Agency didn’t help her. "When I went there, I was told that the employer should have given me a filled in notice to take to the employment agency," the woman says, and adds that the employer, Hasmik Isoyan, did not want to fill in the paper, saying that if she did, the woman would have to pay half of her salary to the agency. The woman, however, doubts this is true, as it’s a state agency. 

Orange Elephant Manager Shogher Vardanyan explained that although the franchising company (without specifying the company name) works at the mentioned address, Maria Design has nothing to do with it, and the property owner Hasmik Isoyan had no right to present herself on behalf of Orange Elephant.

It was the first time Vardanyan heard about the chocolates, as the elephant never offers candies. Work relations are regulated by the franchise company, by contract between the employer and the employee. The pay is decided by the company. However, Orange Elephant suggests that character actors get paid at least 2,000 drams for five hours of work. 

Contrary to the claims of the Orange Elephant manager, Maria Design Director Hasmik Isoyan claimed that she is also the head of the Orange Elephant studio operating in the same building. She also claimed hiring the woman as an elephant for two days. (At the beginning of our conversation, she said that the woman worked only for one day, as a trial, and just for a couple of hours). 

According to Isoyan, the woman was not suitable for the job, but since she desperately needed the work, they hired her.

The first day was a trial one, for which the employer doesn’t usually pay. They offered to pay 1,500 drams for the work, not for 1 to 7pm, as the woman claimed, but from 2:30 to 6:30.

Isoyan "sincerely regrets" that the woman was treated in such a way on the street, but claims that she could not "pay for a few hours." As for the notice given by the agency, she claims she didn’t refuse to fill it in, but simply did not have time, because the woman worked for them for such a short time. She denied asking the "elephant" to sell candies, saying that they are sold only inside. 

"By the way, do you know that it was the agency, not me, who was to pay. Please check it and do not discredit my name,” Isoyan said. 

Head of the Nor Nork Office of the State Employment Agency, Manvel Khachatryan, said that the notice mentioned by the woman should have been filled in by the employer in any case, mentioning whether the person was accepted for the job or not. If there was no deal, the employer should have written down who refused and on what grounds. Based on that, the agency either withdraws the registration of the unemployed person, or continues looking for a job for them. However, the State Employment Agency has no influence over employer- employee relations. Khachatryan refused to comment on the situation, saying he does not know who to blame. 

"The same thing can be said by the employer. For example, they can say that though the person came to work for two days, but did a very sloppy job. I did not see who was to blame, thus I cannot intervene." 

Hetq asked how the employers get listed at the agency, whether it’s checked if they are registered companies or not, if the agency follows up if the employees get registered and taxes are paid for them.  Khachatryan said that ensuring labor rights protection is not within agency’s purview. Their goal is to find work for the unemployed, and the future employee-employer relations have nothing to do with the agency. 

Khachatryan didn’t comment on the refusal of the Maria Design director to fill in the form. 

At the end of our phone conversation, Orange Elephant Manager Shogher Vardanyan asked that I give her phone number to the woman, so that she could come and receive the money for one day’s work.

Photo: “Orange Elephant” in front of Maria Design